Russell Crowe's 'Noah' trailer debuts

Easiest way to describe “Noah”? Judging from its new—and not bootlegged—trailer, consider it a cross between the Old Testament and “Gladiator.”

The new preview for writer-director Darren Aronofsky’s cinematic retelling of the biblical flood features more battle scenes than you might have expected, as an army led by Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins) tries to storm Noah’s vessel, as Hopkins yells, “Take the ark!”

Looking a bit like the buff Maximus in “Gladiator,” Crowe basically tells Methuselah to find another boat—or die trying to take his.

The early peek at the film’s visual effects are impressive, as all creatures great and small crowd into the ark as Noah warns, “A great flood is coming.” The cast includes Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson and Logan Lerman.

That preview has since been taken down, but its appearance came on the heels of several setbacks for the film, including damage to one of the film’s two arks from Hurricane Sandy and reports that Aronofsky was arguing with his financiers about the filmmaker’s cut.